Multilevel directory assistance apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A method is disclosed for the presentation of telephone information about a company or other enterprise over the Internet in response to consumer searches for names or products. Department information is included. The system uses a database to determine product slightly sold my search for companies to provide advertisers or sponsors with preferential placement of their ads. Revenue is charged response to clicking on an advertisement. The system also places telephone calls over the Internet to users of the inventive search engine. Advertisers are charged for such calls. Optionally, the system may not allow direct dialing for non-advertisers.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to apparatus for providing telephone numberdirectory assistance and methods for implementing the same, for exampleon a publicly accessible electronic communications network, such as theInternet.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

(Not applicable)

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

(Not applicable)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is concerned with dealing with the common problem ofinitiating a voice connection with the right department of anenterprise, such as a retail department store. These days, liveoperators have largely been replaced by prerecorded directory treeswhich present the potential consumer with a great amount ofinconvenience. Nevertheless, such directory trees are in increasinglycommon use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventive method provides for the display of a directory ofinformation elements, comprising displaying said . . . directory ofinformation elements with a configuration which is humanly perceptiblebut with a size that may not be humanly discernible. The elements aredivided into at least first, second and third tiers of information. Thefirst, second and third tiers of information are displayedsimultaneously. The first tier of information is displayed in a firstsize. The second tier of information is displayed in a second sizesmaller than said first size, and said third tier of information doesdisplayed in a third size smaller than said second size. The informationelements each comprise an identification subelement and an addresssubelement. A user may drag the display to reveal other parts of thedisplay.

In accordance with the invention, a method for providing telephonedirectory assistance from a database containing a plurality of telephonenumbers and respective party identification data associated with each ofthe telephone numbers is achieved. Generally, a user enters name of anyproduct or goods desired and/or the name of a supplier of the same andis presented with telephone contact information. This is done through anumber of steps starting with, for example, a screen display which ispresented on a computer monitor. The screen display comprises a calledparty field for the entry of called party identification data. A calledparty activation element associated with the called party field ispresented. An entry of called party identification data is received bythe inventive system. The actuation of the called party activationelement is received by the system. The respective party identificationdata is searched for a match or matches to the received called partyidentification data. The matched party identification data is displayedtogether with its associated respective telephone number. A plurality ofelements communicating associated party identification data associatedwith the matched party identification data are displayed. The associatedparty identification data is presented in a manner that indicates theassociation, for example by physical proximity, color coding,subpositioning with indentation, or lines.

A selection of one of the plurality of elements communicating associatedparty identification data may be made. For the selected one of theplurality of elements communicating associated party identificationdata, one or a plurality of subelements communicating associatedsubparty identification data may be displayed. The associated subpartyidentification data may be presented in a manner that indicates theassociation.

A request may be received from a user to dial a selected one of thematched subparty telephone numbers. The selected one of the matchedsubparty telephone numbers may be dialed.

In accordance with on embodiment of the invention, an indication of theselection of associated party identification data may be received. Anindication of a request for associated information associated with theelected associated party identification data may be received. Therequested associated information may be displayed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the invention and ways of making and usingthe invention, as well as the best mode contemplated of carrying out theinvention, are described in detail below, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart generally illustrating a general implementationof the method of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for implementing an exemplaryembodiment of the method according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3-12 illustrate screens presented in accordance with the method ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 13-21 illustrate the preferred embodiment of the display usefulwith the method of the invention; and

FIG. 22 illustrates the software for implementing the methodology of theinvention on a personal computer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of the method 10 of the presentinvention is illustrated. Where practical, numbering of elements in FIG.1 is between 1 and 99 for purposes of clarity of explanation. FIG. 2illustrates apparatus 110 for implementing the inventive method 10.Where practical, numbering of elements in FIG. 2 is between 100 and 199for purposes of clarity of explanation. Method 10 is commenced by apotential customer 112 such as a potential customer 112 accessing thewebsite at step 12. Such access is made by, for example, via theInternet 114.

FIGS. 3-11 illustrate screens presented to potential customer 112 overthe Internet. These illustrated computer screens, for purposes ofclarity of illustration, do not include conventional elements as aresupplied, for example by an Internet browser, such as Microsoft InternetExplorer, or search engine websites such as Google. However, the samewould appear on an actual computer screen implementing the invention.Where practical, numbering of elements in FIGS. 3 through 11 is between200 and 299 for purposes of clarity of explanation.

At step 12, in response to the potential customer 112 accessing theserver system 116 of the company operating the inventive website, system116 presents to potential customer 112 by sending over Internet 114 ascreen 210, as shown in FIG. 3. Screen 210 may include an advertisement212 from a sponsor company. In the present specification, in referencesmade to any “Company” it is understood that the same may be a formalcorporation, an individual operating a business, or the like.

Screen 210 may also include a field 214 for the entry at step 14 bypotential customer 112 of the name of, for example, a store for whichdirect telephone number information is desired. Such a store may be anadvertiser. In response to the query, “Company Name:”, the potentialcustomer 112 might type in the name of a store, for example, “Lacey's”,as shown in FIG. 4. Screen 210 may also include an actuation icon orhyperlink 216. When the potential customer 112 completes typing in“Lacey's”, icon 216 is clicked on with the mouse cursor positioned overicon 216.

Upon clicking, this information is sent via Internet 114 to servercentral processing unit 118, which is a conventional computer programmedto execute the method of the present invention. System 116 then proceedsto step 16, where central processing unit 118 consults database 120 todetermine if the company name is associated with an advertiser or othersponsor 122 of the inventive website. If system 116 determines that thecompany sought is an advertiser, an advertisement 218 is selected bysystem 116 according to a request from sponsor 122 at step 18, and theselected advertisement 218, obtained from database 120, is sent bysystem 116 over the Internet at step 20 for display on the screen ofFIG. 5. Generally, it is contemplated that many major commercialenterprises in an area will be sponsors of the inventive website.Consideration would be paid by sponsors to the operator of the websitein exchange for the various advantages detailed herein.

If potential customer 112 has not identified an advertiser in field 214,system 116 proceeds to step 22, where central processing unit 118consults database 124 to determine those products sold by the companywhose name has been entered by potential customer 112 into field 214.

In this specification, in connection with references made to a“product”, it is understood that the same refers to goods or services orany similar commodity which may be involved in commerce.

Database 124 contains a comprehensive list of companies in the regionserved by the inventive website, for example the United States. Database124 also contains a list, for each of those companies, of the principalproducts sold by those companies. The same may be gathered by any numberof various techniques. Based on this information and the name of thecompany name entered in field 214, at step 24, system 116 can determinewhich sponsor 122 or sponsors sell competitive products. At step 26,system 110 can display an advertisement or advertisements selected bythe competitive sponsor 122 or sponsors contained in database 120. Suchselection may be a function of the goods likely to be sold by thecompetitive company. In accordance with the invention, it iscontemplated that database 124 may be populated by sponsors and/or bydata assembling techniques, such as the making of manual telephone callsto principal advertisers likely to be searched for. It is also possibleto generate information using web crawlers or the like. In connectionwith this, existing databases and search engines may be employed. Inaccordance with the invention it is contemplated that if an advertiseris being looked for, his name will appear. If the company being searchedis not an advertiser, it is contemplated that advertisements of sponsorcompetitors will be displayed. If goods are being searched for, sponsorsare given preferential treatment in the presentation of results.Otherwise, other indicators may be used to determine which company isdisplayed, for example the assumption may be made the companies mostoften searched for will be presented. Alternatively, a selection of suchcompanies may be displayed. In accordance with the invention it iscontemplated that to the extent that geographical information may beinput into the system (in an appropriate field presented to theuser/searcher by the inventive system) by the searcher, such informationwill be presented. To the extent that such information is availablewithout searcher input, the same will determine results.

System 116 then proceeds to step 28, where system 116 presents topotential customer 112 response 220 to the query of potential customer112. This response can include information on the search for company aswell as competitor advertisements calculated to gain the interest of thesearcher. Such response may be another query 222, “Location” and a field224 to receive the location of the store on which potential customer 112is seeking information. Potential customer 112 then fills in hislocation (causing the system to present information on the store closestto the customer's location) and then clicks on icon 216 at step 30,causing system 116 to proceed to step 32 and determine if the selectedcompany is an advertiser. At the same time the potential customer 112may be sent locations of the closest stores as illustrated in FIG. 6, asa result of central processing unit 118 consulting database 126.

If potential customer 112 has selected an advertiser (for example inresponse to a query respecting goods), an advertisement 218 is selectedby system 116 according to a request from sponsor 122 at step 34, andthe selected advertisement 218, obtained from database 120, is sent bysystem 116 over the Internet, also at step 34, for display on the screenof FIG. 5.

If potential customer 112 has not identified an advertiser/sponsor infield 214, system 116 proceeds to step 40, where central processing unit118 consults database 124 to determine those products sold by thecompany whose name has been entered by potential customer 112 into field214. Based on this information and the name of the company, entered infield 214, at step 38, system 116 can determine which sponsor 122 orsponsors sell competitive products. At step 40, system 116 can displayan advertisement or advertisements selected by the competitive sponsor122 or sponsors contained in database 120.

After the potential customer 112 enters a desired location into field224 on the screen illustrated in FIG. 5, system 116 proceeds to step 42,and consults database 126 and compares locations in the database to therequested location. System 116 them lists the closest locations 226 inthe screen of FIG. 6. This also results in the recordal of a charge tothe advertiser at step 43. In accordance with the invention it iscontemplated that each time an advertisement presented by an advertiseris clicked on, a charge is recorded. These charges are then accumulatedand sent to advertiser's monthly. It is also contemplated in accordancewith the invention that if there are no results for a search for companywhich is not a sponsor within a certain mileage range, system 116 may soinform potential customer 112 and produce sponsor 122 information, butgive the option of store locations at greater distances.

Alternatively, instead of the screen of FIG. 5, system 116 can godirectly to FIG. 6 with the list of locations. Alternatively, telephonenumbers may be provided for each location at step 44. In either case,potential customer 112 may click icon 228 and place a call from hiscomputer, with telephone service being provided by the operator of theinventive website or the regular provider to potential customer 112.Alternatively, potential customer 112 may place a call using a cellulartelephone or other telephone service and manually dialing the number.Such function may also be provided by central processing unit 118. Inaddition, other services, such as Skype may be used.

Referring to FIG. 6, at step 46 potential customer 112 may click on adesired location (causing it to be highlighted, as illustrated in FIG.6) and click on icon 216 or double click on a desired location toactuate a subcategory information retrieval. This actuation is sent overthe Internet to central processing unit 118, which searches database 126and produces a list of departments for the selected location, togetherwith telephone numbers for all displayed locations and generaldepartments, as illustrated in FIG. 7. The result is a listing of thevarious categories of products in the store and the department telephonenumbers at step 48.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a department, such as “Ladies Wear” may behighlighted 235 by potential customer 112 at step 50, and the “PleaseConnect Me” icon can be highlighted, as illustrated. The display alsoincludes an advertisement 236. Potential customer 112 may click onadvertisement 236 at step 52. This results in the recordal of a chargeto the advertiser at step 54. This is done by system 116 by recording acharge in register 128. System 116 then proceeds at step 56 to respondto the clicking on the advertisement, for example by the transfer ofpotential customer 112 to a particular page on the web site of theadvertiser.

After acting on the selection of the advertisement, potential customer112 may return to the web site at step 58. The potential customer 112may then highlight the department and telephone number and may then beautomatically connected by having thus caused system 116 to dial at step60. Charges for dialing are recorded in registry 130 at step 62. Moreparticularly, the objective is to charge sponsors for each telephonecall placed to them. In this way the inventive system enables potentialcustomers to initiate voice contact with the proper department at aparticular store which they initially input into the system or to whichthey were led by the system. At step 64, system 116 implementsconnection of the potential customer 112 through module 132.

Such connection may be done in one of two ways. Either connection can bemade through a telephone connection provided by the web site operator(with the advantage of charging an advertiser for minutes of usage), orin the computer of potential customer 112 may be caused to use theInternet connection of potential customer 112. Other methods may also beused.

A yet further alternative is to provide the option of direct connectiononly for advertisers, as contractual relations with such advertisers canprovide for payment, while providing connection to all parties will notcover costs of making connections through the web site, which mayprovide for a simpler execution of the function. In this respect it ispossible to present the alternative of direct connection via the searchwebsite to the advertiser, based on the most up-to-date estimation ofthe types of products or services being sought by the potentialconsumer. More particularly, if the consumer wishes to dial anon-sponsor/advertiser, he may be required to use his own telephoneaccount and make a separate entry of the telephone number. On the otherhand, the consumer can simply click on the sponsor's name or departmentand the connection can be made to the computer immediately and thepotential customer may simply talk to a microphone connected to hiscomputer and listen to the other side of the conversation using thespeaker on the computer.

Optionally, a search field 234 may be provided to receive a searchinput. For example, potential customer 112 may input the search term“cold weather” into field 234, and then click on icon 216, causing thesystem 116 to return the screen of FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, thesystem 116 discloses they number of products which are responsive to thesearch query input into the system 116 in FIG. 7, as described above butnot illustrated in FIG. 7. The screen illustrated in FIG. 8 alsoprovides for the possibility of further search queries. Optionally, suchsearch fields and functions may be provided in any of the system 116screens together with descriptive material, if desired.

In similar fashion, simply clicking on the “Home” can cause system 116to connect the potential customer 112 to the selected department. Thiscauses system 116 to return to database 126 to look at categories under“Horne”, causing system 116 to go to the screen of FIG. 9. As shown inFIG. 9, such actuation results in the display of additional departments,namely, “Bath” and “Dining”.

In similar fashion, simply double-clicking on “Home” can cause system116 to connect the potential customer 112 to the selected department.Alternatively, this may be made to cause system 116 to return todatabase 126 to look at categories under “Home”, causing system 116 toreturn the screen of FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, such actuation resultsin the display of additional departments, namely, “Bath” and “Dining”.

In accordance with the invention, it is also contemplated that thesystem 116 will produce statistical reports on potential customers 112,for example reports which are accessible over the Internet, byaccumulating data in register 134.

In accordance with the present invention, it is further contemplatedthat data respecting advertisers is gathered from advertisers directly.

In the case of companies which are not advertisers, company name,product and telephone information may be collected through publiclyaccessible search engines 136 and 138, such as Google. In addition,telephone calls placed by the system 116 to prior art telephone voicetree answered systems 116 may be used to gather department,subdepartment, category and subcategory information. This may be done byhuman operators, or, alternatively, an automated system 116 may navigateexisting telephone voice trees using voice recognition software and askautomated questions generated using voice synthesis technology.

Still yet another possibility for a screen display is illustrated inFIG. 12. In this example, the number is not automatically displayed.Instead, an icon 238 allows potential customer 112 to request thetelephone number while another icon 240 allows the potential customer112 to simply request connection.

In accordance with the present invention, and in the case where atelephone connection is provided by the operator of the inventive website, for example, for telephone calls only to paying advertisers, theopportunity exists to provide an opening message prior to placement ofthe call. Such opening message may only be provided while the potentialcustomer 112 is waiting for a telephone receiver to be answered. In thiscase, the circumstance may be explained to potential customer 112.

Referring to FIG. 13, a particularly useful embodiment of the system ofthe present invention is illustrated. Generally, information is providedin the form of a map with various divisions associated in the displaywith their respective telephone numbers. Conceptually, larger divisionsare shown in larger type. As information becomes more granular, the sizeof the associated graphics is reduced. This allows the user to see thehigh points of the organization and then use the computer to see moregranular information by, for example, clicking on difficult to readinformation to increase display alphanumeric size, zooming with themouse, picking a center point and zooming on it, selecting a zoomfunction and then clicking on the center point and so forth.

In accordance with the invention, such differences in size may be set asvarying from one discrete value to another, for example decreasing insize by 33⅓% or increasing in size by 50%. Sizes of alphanumericdisplays in different parts of the display may also be varied in thesame manner, thus providing for uniform font size for all parts of thedisplay at some level of zoom. In addition, the power of the zoomin/zoom out function may be keyed to the same increase and decrease,thus allowing all functions to track each other and give a uniformdisplay.

An alternative implementation is to have variable levels of zoom whichmay be implemented by the user depressing the control key and eitherusing the scroll portions of a touchpad or a conventional mouse wheel toimplement a variable zooming function.

Also in accordance with the invention, different gestures or keyboardkeys may be used to control the display. For example, a single click maycause the display to zoom away, while double-clicking may cause thedisplay to zoom in on parts of the display showing greater levels ofgranularity. Optionally, zoom in or zoom out commands may result inimages centered on the position of click or double-click cursorlocations during the time of clicking or double-clicking. Alternatively,the system may present a predetermined display in response to clickingwithin a particular defined area, for example during zooming in.

Referring to FIG. 13, a town, such as the town of Pleasantville, mayprovide a website display 510 for providing the telephone numbers of itsvarious departments and other attractions. At the very highest levelthis could be an advertisement 512, which may be attractive pictures,video, text, or the like in a designated area.

Increasing levels of granularity are displayed in the form of threedepartments of the city, city hall, a mall and the Main Street shoppingarea. Each has its own telephone number (many shown with the same numberfor purposes of simplicity of illustration in this application, but allof which would probably have different numbers in a real worldapplication). Main Street has no number because it likely would not havea central marketing office. On the other hand, the “Running River Mall”does have its own number for marketing purposes.

As can be seen from FIG. 13, stores in the Main Street area would appearunderneath Main Street. Similarly, retailers 514 in the Running RiverMall would appear under that mall. Going to a greater level ofgranularity, departments 516 of one store, Lacey's appear in smallertype and sub-departments 518 in yet smaller type while theirsub-sub-departments 520 are in even smaller type.

In accordance with the invention, a user may zoom in on a particularregion, such as the region 522 which, in the example, includes theretailers in the Main Street area of Pleasantville. A double click maybe used to instruct the system to zoom in, while a single click may beused to cause the system to zoom out. Thus, double-clicking on region522 will cause the system to output the display of FIG. 14. Otherfunctionalities may also be included. For example, if the mouse is movedto the left, the region to the left of the display may be displayed. Theopposite occurs when the mouse is moved to the right, and movement ofthe mouse up and down causes corresponding movement in the display.

In accordance with the invention, if the mouse is not moved, the systemmay be programmed so that the display area shown stops displaying linesconnecting to other parts of the map, as is the case in FIG. 14. Inaddition to this, the cessation of movement may also trigger thedownload of graphic or other information, such as video, audio and soforth. On the other hand, if one begins to move the mouse, connectionlines between different items may be restored to the display.

As can be seen from FIG. 15, the relationship in size between differentlevels of granularity is one of a 50% gain in size when zooming in and a33⅓% loss in size when zooming out.

Referring to FIG. 16, yet another embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. In this embodiment, the system is preprogrammed withregions 524 through 532. In this example, each region is defined as arectangle. Each rectangle has a center, or rectangle region centerpoint,not illustrated. In accordance with this embodiment, clicking on thedrawing with a single click causes the display of the rectangle regionassociated with the nearest rectangle region centerpoint.Double-clicking causes zooming in and triple clicking causes zoomingout. Simple movement of the mouse may be used to move the display, or aclick and drag movement may be employed for the same purpose. If themouse is not moved for a period of time, for example 2 seconds,connections to other regions cease to be displayed and additional ordifferent material may be downloaded.

It is also possible to use gestures of the type used in the Apple iPhoneor other gestures to control the display in accordance with the presentinvention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 17-21, clicking on different regions will causedisplays such as those illustrated in the figures to be presented on thescreen of the computer, with different regions of different sizes beingsized properly to fill the computer screen. For example, each of theFIGS. 17-21 may, in accordance with the preferred embodiments, representa full screen display.

Further in accordance with the present invention, the system may detectthe point of interest, for example based on cursor movement, for examplestopping or slowing down for an extended period of time and hen zoom inor zoom out, optionally slowly, to a magnification appropriate to allowthe viewer to easily view the information, but allowing the user tooverride the automatic zooming feature. Such automatic zooming is notresumed until certain conditions are met, for example, resumedsubstantial mouse movement (i.e. including touchpad or other pointingdevice movement).

Referring to FIG. 22, a flowchart for software for performing the methodof the present invention as outlined in FIGS. 13-21 is illustrated.Generally, the software 610 detects cursor movement at step 612. Thisinformation, in the simplest case, results in a determination of framecontent at step 614 where the system derives information from database616. This, in turn, drives the display of the computer at step 618.

More complex functions are determined by gestures, single clicking,double-clicking, triple clicking and so forth. Such gestures aredetected at step 620. If the gestures indicate that centerpointdetection is appropriate in order to reduce the display of apredetermined region, the system detects the predetermined gesture atstep 622, causing the system to determine scaling at step 624. Thesystem may also be responsive to gestures detected at increase ordecrease scaling. In connection with this, the position of the cursor isdetected at step 626, which information may be used to extract the frameat step 614, or to determine at step 628 that the cursor is dwelling fora period of time in an area, causing the system to add or subtractdisplay elements to simplify the display at step 630. Alternatively, thesystem may go to a predefined area display, begin the download of videoor other advertising material, or make a centerpoint determination atstep 622.

While an illustrative embodiment of the invention has been described, itis understood that some variations and equivalents are within the scopeof the invention which is defined by the claims and their elements,including equivalents thereof.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of displaying a directory ofinformation elements, comprising displaying said directory ofinformation elements with a configuration which is humanly perceptiblebut with a size that may not be humanly discernible, wherein elementsare divided into at least first, second and third tiers of information,said first, second and third tiers of information being displayedsimultaneously, said first tier of information being displayed in afirst size, said second tier of information being displayed in a secondsize smaller than said first size, and said third tier of informationbeing displayed in a third size smaller than said second size, saidinformation elements each comprising an identification subelement and anaddress subelement wherein a user may drag the display to reveal otherparts of the display.
 2. A method as in claim 1, wherein gesturing on anaddress implements or begins to implement a connection to said address.3. A method as in claim 1, wherein gesturing on an address implements orbegins to implement a connection to said address, and wherein gesturing,using a gesture selected from the group consisting of clicking, sweepingor operation of a displayed toolbar, on an area other than an addresswith a first gesture causes zooming in on said display, and gesturingwith a second gesture selected from said group causes zooming out frominformation on said display.
 4. A method as in claim 1, whereinlingering with a cursor on a particular location in the display causes asimplification of the display by the removal of information such aslinks to other areas of the display, and movement of said cursor causesrestoration of removed information to the display.
 5. A method as inclaim 1, wherein lingering with a cursor on a particular location in thedisplay causes a magnification of the display, and movement of saidcursor causes restoration of the size of the display.
 6. A method as inclaim 1, wherein gesturing on an address implements or begins toimplement a connection to said address and, wherein gesturing on anaddress implements or begins to implement a connection to said address,and wherein gesturing, using a gesture selected from the groupconsisting of clicking, sweeping or operation of a displayed toolbar, onan area other than an address with a first gesture causes zooming in onsaid display, and gesturing with a second gesture selected from saidgroup causes zooming out from information on said display.
 7. A methodas in claim 6, wherein lingering with a cursor on a particular locationin the display causes a simplification of the display by the removal ofinformation such as links to other areas of the display, and movement ofsaid cursor causes restoration of removed information to the display,and wherein lingering with a cursor on a particular location in thedisplay causes a magnification of the display, and movement of saidcursor causes restoration of the size of the display.
 8. A method ofdisplaying a directory of information elements, as in claim 1, whereinsaid identification subelement comprises a source of a merchandise orservice and said address subelement comprises an address taken from hegroup consisting of telephone numbers and internet addresses.
 9. Amethod of displaying a directory of information elements as in claim 1,wherein at least one of said information elements further comprises avideo element.
 10. A method of displaying a directory of informationelements, as in claim 1 wherein said identification subelement comprisesa source of a merchandise or service and said address subelementcomprises an address taken from the group consisting of telephonenumbers and internet addresses.
 11. A method as in claim 1 wherein saidinformation elements are associated with regions and each of saidregions has an associated region trigger point with a position in saidregion, and gesturing at a clicking point, for example by clicking, onthe display causes the display of the region associated with the triggerpoint closest to said clicking point.
 12. A method of displaying adirectory of information elements, comprising displaying said directoryof information elements with a configuration which is humanlyperceptible but with a size that may not be humanly discernible, whereinelements are divided into at least two tiers of information, said tiersof information being displayed simultaneously, said tiers of informationbeing displayed in varying sizes said information elements eachcomprising an identification subelement and an address subelementwherein a user may drag the display to reveal other parts of thedisplay.
 13. A method as in claim 12 wherein said tiers of informationare divided into at least first, second and third tiers of information,said first, second and third tiers of information being displayedsimultaneously, said first tier-of information being displayed in afirst size, said second tier of information being displayed in a secondsize smaller than said first size, and said third tier of informationbeing displayed in a third size smaller than said second size.
 14. Amethod of displaying a directory of information elements, comprisingdisplaying said directory of information elements wherein elements aredivided into at least first, second and third tiers of information, saidfirst, second and third tiers of information being displayedsimultaneously, said first tier-of information being displayed in afirst size, said second tier of information being displayed in a secondsize smaller than said first size, and said third tier of informationbeing displayed in a third size smaller than said second size, saidtiers of information being displayed simultaneously, and saidinformation elements each comprising a plurality of subelements.
 15. Amethod as in claim 14 wherein said subelements comprise anidentification subelement and an address subelement wherein a user maydrag the display to reveal other parts of the display.